New Beginnings
by Tony DiNozzo Freak
Summary: What WAS in that tea that Teyla mentioned in Rising Pt. 1? Takes place after Rising and The Siege Pt. 3. Please enjoy and don't forget to review. I would like to hear from my fans. Thank you in advance.


TITLE: To New Beginnings

AUTHOR: Tiffany Flowers

RATING: M for mature audiences. If you are under 18 please read no further!

CATEGORY: John/Liz relationship

SPOILERS: Rising 1 & 2 and The Siege Part 3. Any others that I might have missed

please let me know. I'm still trying to memorize Atlantis episodes.

SUMMARY: What might have taken place after the events of Rising. What exactly is in

that tea that Teyla mentioned?

DISCLAIMERS: I own only the story that you're about to read. I am merely borrowing

the characters for entertainment purposes and not monetary. I did not

mean to infringe upon any trademarks or copyrights. I give credit to

the cast and crew of Stargate Atlantis, who every week, give us a

wonderful show to give its fans so that they can come up with great

works of fan fictions. And also credit goes to Joe, Torri, Rachel,

Rainbow, David and Paul for giving us wonderful characters to love

and grow attached to. Keep up the good work everyone! Thank you!

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic came about when Trisha and I were watching/listening

to Atlantis Rising on my computer. When Teyla mentioned the

stout tea that the Athosians drank before dawn, Trish made a

comment and, of course being as tired as I was, kicked my muse

in the ass and made it wake up. THANKS, TRISH! LOL So, this

fic is automatically dedicated to her, as is my other Stargate fan fic

about Sam and Jack, which, for all you Sam/Jack shippers, should

be completed soon and on its way out to you. Enjoy and let me

know what you thought of it. Feedback will amuse my muse! LOL

Any grammatical, punctuation or mistakes overall are my fault.

Copyright, 2005 TIFFANY FLOWERS

Major John Sheppard looked at the two cups of freshly brewed stout tea that Teyla Emmagan had for him. He walked out onto the balcony that he knew Doctor Elizabeth Weir would be standing on; she had done that a lot since their arrival in Atlantis and even more so once the city had risen from the depths of the ocean that had buried it millennia ago until they showed up and woke it up.

He watched her for a moment before clearing his throat to announce his arrival behind her. She turned around to face him, her hazel eyes connecting with his green ones; she smiled in acknowledgement at him as he walked forward and offered her one of the cups in his hand, the slight breeze off the ocean moving the loose curls of her hair.

She took the offered mug with a small nod and a warm smile as she wrapped her hands around the warmed mug and breathed in the soothing scent of whatever ingredients made up the Athosian tea. She closed her eyes as the scent filled her nostrils and created a sense of relaxation after the chaos that had taken place just mere hours after arriving in the Pegasus galaxy.

"Teyla says that her people have a cup right before dawn approaches," John told her as he took up a spot next to her with his cup in his hands. "Says it's supposed to relax you."

"Hope it works," Elizabeth sighed as she put the cup to her lips. "God knows I could use it right about now."

"Rough day, huh?" John asked as he took a sip of his own tea as well, the powerful taste of what seemed like cinnamon, chicory, chamomile and barley, mixed with what tasted like Jack Daniel's whiskey to him, hitting his tongue; he and Elizabeth pulled their mugs down at the same time and looked at each other with quizzical expressions.

"Rough couple of days, Major," Elizabeth smiled thinly as she remembered the small group of people that had already lost their lives since arriving in the Pegasus galaxy. Colonel Sumner being the first casualty, which had, in turn, made Major Sheppard the next in line for the command of the military personnel of Atlantis. "I was just doing some thinking, that's all."

"Whether you're cut for this or not? Whether General O'Neill picked the right person for this mission?" John asked her, turning his back on the water that surrounded the floating city and leaned upon the railing with his butt and right hip. He looked at her, studying her eyes, her lips and her facial expressions as they changed with the passing seconds as she thought about his questions.

Turning to cast a surprised look at him, Elizabeth forced out a scoffing laugh of surprise and smiled as she braced herself against the railing with her left hip; she still had the cup of Athosian tea in her hands as she watched his grinning reaction.

"How did you know what I was thinking, Major?" Elizabeth inquired, wondering if this had something to do with the Ancients gene that Sheppard had buried in his DNA.

"Don't know," Sheppard shrugged, casting a grin at her. "Maybe…because I was thinking about that myself."

"John," Elizabeth sighed softly. "You're here because I requested you to be."

"Because of this gene I have?" John asked, still trying to fathom that this was all real; trying to accept the facts that he had shot his CO and had almost become Wraith food.

"Part of it, yes," Elizabeth said, stepping closer to him and putting her right hand on his shoulder. "But, John, you're here because you have excellent military skills and I know you're just what Atlantis and this expedition team needs to survive."

"Did you even bother to read my file?" John asked, his voice half serious and half sarcastic as his right eyebrow shot up in curiosity.

"Yes, I did," Liz replied matter-of-factly, her own eyebrow shooting up at him. "And I must say that I was impressed with your record."

"Are you sure you read everything?" John questioned again as his gut began to become unsettled and nervous.

"If you're referring to the incident that took place in Afghanistan," Liz answered as she got right in front of him, a hand space between them. "Yes, I did."

"And?" John said simply, wondering if she was having second thoughts about having him here in Atlantis.

"I don't care," She replied bluntly, smiling at his reaction. "That was then, John. This is now. It doesn't matter to me what your file says. I just want you to be able to start fresh and prove to yourself that you're not the type of person that that file says you used to be. It's a new beginning here, John. For all of us."

John sighed in relief, his face relaxing from the tense expression that he had had, thinking that Elizabeth was going to tell him that she had changed her mind about bringing him here. He smiled back at her, lifting his mug.

"Here's to new beginnings." John toasted, touching his mug to hers.

"New beginnings." Elizabeth repeated as she felt his fingers brush hers, sending warm sparks up along her spine. Her eyes locked with his as the warm feeling continued to spread throughout her body; she knew it was wrong to be looking at Sheppard this way, but she couldn't her eyes to focus anywhere else.

"Uh, um…" John tried to say, the same warm feeling spreading over his body as he continued to stare at Elizabeth. And then he remembered something. "What about, um, Simon?"

"Simon?" Elizabeth asked, as if she had no idea who Sheppard was talking about. And then she remembered. "Oh! Simon! Right. Yes, of course."

"Sorry," John replied when he saw the saddened expression that how filled her face. "I didn't mean to…"

"No," Liz said, holding up a hand to stop him. "It's okay. You didn't know."

"Even still," John answered, grabbing her still raised hand for some reason. "I'm sorry. I mean, I know we all left loved ones and family back home, but I didn't take into account that I was the only one that had nothing back on Earth."

"Not even parents?" Elizabeth asked as she studied their hands, their fingers now entwined.

"Nope," John answered, running his thumb along hers on their now entwined hands. "Both of my folks are dead, no brothers and no sisters."

"I'm sorry," Liz apologized, the sentiment filling her eyes. "Not even a girlfriend, fiancée or wife?"

"Nope, nope and nope," John told her, still running his thumb along hers. "The military was all I had. It was all I needed."

"Well, you have a family here now, John." Liz whispered as the intense feeling in her gut rose, his thumb still caressing her skin and their eyes still locked on each other; the whisper all that she could manage due to the restrictive space in her throat.

"Simon's a lucky guy," John remarked, his now cold tea being set on a nearby ledge as he brushed a curl of her dark hair behind her ear. "To have a smart, beautiful woman like you in his life."

"Well, um," Elizabeth blushed. Simon had never been forthcoming in the admittance of feelings to her too often, so she wasn't used to taking such compliments. Sure Simon loved her, but he had hardly said so, so Sheppard's obvious compliment took her by complete surprise. "That is, well…thank you."

"He'd be a fool to let you go that quickly." John told her as he took her cup from her and set it next to his.

"I, um, didn't give him a choice," She admitted to him, her sense of trust to tell him anything was overwhelming. "I was allowed to send him a video letter explaining where I was going. I even told him that the possibility to return was not that big."

"You think he'll wait for you?" John's question made a shocking, yet sickening, sense to her. Did she really expect Simon to wait, God knew how many years, for her to return? Did she really have that right do assume that he would?

"Part of me does," She answered. "Part of me hopes he'll move on after a few months."

"What about you? What do you want?" John asked again as his free hand found her right hip and pulled her towards him, his other hand releasing hers and settling it on her other hip.

Trying to keep her composure and senses about her, Elizabeth placed her hands on his chest and allowed herself to be pulled towards his strong frame; John's hands now resting just slightly above the beginning curve of her rear end.

"I'm not sure yet," She told him, the pounding of his heart vibrating under her hands as she continued to star at him with a sudden and heated desire. "I'll let you know when I find it."

"Good." John whispered as he leaned in and placed his lips to hers, the need to feel her against him was starting to drive him insane. \\ What is in that tea// He thought.

Elizabeth allowed herself to get caught up in the moment by placing her hands on either side of his face to bring him closer to her as her lips worked and moved with his as his hands copied hers, his fingers burying themselves into the thick, dark and loose curls of her hair while he kept his thumbs on her cheeks.

John took a deep breath through his nose as he deepened the kiss and slid his tongue into her mouth, the need to be with her was overwhelming his usually clear, militaristic senses. His thumbs ran lightly over her cheeks as he held her face to his as his mouth gently pushed hers open more and his tongue slid back into hers.

Elizabeth slid her arms between his and put them under his to put her hands on his back, her feet inching her closer to his body. She could feel every nerve in her brain firing as the physical contact became more passionate, urgent and heated.

John pulled back reluctantly as he still held her face in his hands, his breathing was deep and panting as he tried to replace the missing oxygen that had mysteriously disappeared from his lungs. She was doing the same, but now her hazel eyes were a darker color; the evidence of her desire and arousal. He was sure that his green eyes were also darker from the moment.

"I'm sorry." John apologized, letting her go quickly and retreating towards the door that led back inside, but didn't get close enough to activate the opening mechanism.

"For what?" Elizabeth panted as she stared at him in disbelief, the feeling of him not near her was making her undergo the sense that she did something wrong.

"Kissing you," John panted, his eyes conveying the same fear. "I mean, what kind of guy am I? You have someone back home. Who am I to come between that?"

"John, please," Liz almost begged. "I didn't say that you were wrong. Simon is there and I'm here. I can't expect him to wait for me. And we were just in a moment that I think was nice. Who's to say we won't get closer, John?"

"That's not my point!" John exclaimed, his eyes taking on a glassy appearance before they rolled into the back of his head and he dropped to the ground.

"SHEPPARD!" Elizabeth shouted as she ran to his side and knelt beside him, touching the ear-comms piece to get her voice broadcasted through Atlantis. "Doctor Beckett report to the control center balcony. I repeat, Doctor Beckett to the control center balcony. NOW!"

She knelt over John's unconscious form to check for a pulse just as Rodney McKay came outside to see what the commotion had been about, but pulled on the breaks when he saw Sheppard laying on the ground at his feet.

"What happened?" McKay asked, looking down at Sheppard.

"I don't know. We were talking and then all of a sudden he dropped." Elizabeth said, omitting the part where they had kissed.

"Oh, crap!" Came the Scottish accented voice of Carson Beckett, Atlantis' chief medical officer. "What happened?"

"Elizabeth and Sheppard were talking when he just collapsed." Rodney said when Beckett looked to someone for an answer.

Turning to his crew, Beckett ordered them to get him to the newly set up infirmary and then turned back to Elizabeth and Rodney.

"We'll find out what happened to him, Doctor Weir. I promise." Carson said as he looked at her and then turned to leave.

Elizabeth just stood there in shock. Shock that she had kissed John Sheppard, shock that it felt so good, shock that she had enjoyed it and just the overall shock that she just might have found her soul mate.

"Elizabeth?" Rodney's concerned voice called through her hazy thoughts. "Are you alright? Elizabeth?"

"Get Carson back here." Elizabeth answered, not looking at McKay.

"Why?" Rodney asked, looking back at her in time from watching Carson walk away; just in time to catch her as she fell, his free hand hitting his earpiece after lowering her to the ground but kept supporting her head. "CARSON! GET BACK HERE NOW!"

"Why?" Came Carson's reply over the comms.

"Just do it!" Rodney shouted, trying to pick Elizabeth up into his arms. "Elizabeth's unconscious. She just fell into my arms."

"I'm on my way!" Carson replied and then shut off his com link, leaving Rodney with an unconscious diplomat on his hands.

A few minutes later, Carson and his team charged through the door and began accessing Elizabeth's condition as they started adhering heart and brain sensors to her; they put her on a gurney and wheeled her quickly to the medical bay, placing her bed next to the one that was already being occupied by Major Sheppard.

"I want blood drawn on her stat," Carson barked, hoping that this wasn't going to spread throughout Atlantis. "I don't want this thing turning into a city-wide epidemic. Move people, now!"

People rushed off in a multitude of directions to follow his orders, putting electrodes along Elizabeth's forehead and her upper chest as machines began beeping and showing her vital statistics. The nurse that was in charge prepped Elizabeth's arm for the blood draw and took it to the back room where Beckett was.

"How's Major Sheppard? Is he going to be okay?" Rodney fired off nervously.

"Doctor McKay," Carson's voice said from behind him. "They'll be fine. I just have to run a few tests. But they'll be fine."

"Fine!" Rodney shouted, making the staff stop and watch. "Do they look fine? They're unconscious for God's sake! How in the _hell_ are they fine?"

"Rodney, relax," Carson said, holding up his hands to calm him down. "They are only resting. Major Sheppard was awake a few minutes before we brought Doctor Weir into the medical bay."

"What about Elizabeth?" Rodney asked, his worry filling his voice.

"She'll be alright," Carson affirmed. "She just needs rest. It's been a crazy couple of days, Rodney."

"Yeah, okay," Rodney apologized. "Just keep me updated. I've got a few things to double check, systems that link the city to look over."

Carson watched Rodney leave the medical bay, defeated, and then turned back to a loudly moaning Major Sheppard who was trying to sit up, holding his head; Carson went to his bedside to check him out and make sure that he was okay enough to be released once Elizabeth had woken up.

"Ow," John groaned. "What the hell happened?"

"You passed out, Major," Carson informed him. "You and Elizabeth both."

"Elizabeth?" John's head shot up, his eyes shining with sudden fear as he got off his bed and charged past the doctor to Elizabeth's side.

"She's still not conscious, Major," Carson told him as the military officer hovered over Weir. "I ran her blood—and yours—but I didn't find anything wrong thus far. Perhaps it's just fatigue from the last few days."

"Yeah," John sighed. "Maybe that's it. I mean, it has been a bad couple of days since we arrived here."

"You're free to go if you wish, Major." Carson said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere until she wakes up," John argued, picking up her right hand with his. "I owe her that much, Beckett."

"Very well," Carson sighed. "Just get some rest when you feel tired."

"I will, Carson," John promised as he sat down. "I just want to make sure she's okay."

Carson watched him sit on the side of Elizabeth's bed, her hand between his and the expression on his face was that of a military man who had an injured subordinate that he was going to feel guilt over; he felt for Major Sheppard. He stood there for a moment longer and then left to continue on with checking the other inhabitants of the infirmary.

John just sat there, trying to figure out why they had passed out. Maybe Beckett was right and it was just the events of the past three days catching up and they were tired from it. That was the logical theory, wasn't it?

"Mm," Came a soft moan, snapping John's attention to the person at his side. "Mm. Sheppard?"

"I'm here," John said, leaning close to her with her hand still between his. "Beckett said you're going to be okay."

"What happened?" She asked, her voice cracking from being dry.

"Apparently we passed out." John admitted, still holding her hand.

"Why?" Elizabeth questioned, sitting up.

"Beckett doesn't know," John informed her. "He's testing our blood samples now."

"Contagion?" Elizabeth wondered, glancing down at their hands, the warm feeling returning as the heart monitor started beeping wildly.

"He doesn't seem to think so," John explained, his eyes locking with hers. "No one else has passed out since our incident."

"Just us?" Elizabeth asked, not moving her eyes.

"Yeah." John said simply. He glanced at their hands and noticed that Elizabeth was putting her fingers between his, locking them together. His skin suddenly felt as if it were on fire; the fire spread through his body, making him feel hot.

"Well," Carson announced as he entered the room with his laptop. "I can't seem to find any reason why the both of you passed out. But you're both free to go. But I want you both to come back if you feel any light-headedness, dizziness or nausea."

"Thanks, Beckett," John said, helping Elizabeth up. "Let's get you to your quarters so that you can rest."

"Good idea, Major," Elizabeth agreed, putting her arms around him for support. "I could use some hot tea as well."

"I'll have Teyla bring it to ya," Beckett said, reaching up for his earpiece. "Teyla, would you mind bringing Doctor Weir some hot tea?"

"I will meet her in the infirmary." Teyla said, cutting communications.

"Teyla," John said, tapping his own earpiece. "I'm taking Elizabeth to her quarters. Meet us there instead, okay?"

"Understood, Major Sheppard." Teyla replied.

John walked slowly beside Elizabeth so that she wouldn't waste her energy trying to keep up with his long strides. He could feel her arms around his waist as she held onto him for support; the feel of her arms him, a nice and welcomed need.

As soon as they approached Elizabeth's door, John waved his hand in front of the sensor, which opened the door with a soft hiss as it moved to the right in a sliding motion; once it was opened, he walked her inside and set her on the bed and got her settled on the edge.

"Teyla should be here soon with your tea," John said after fluffing her pillow for her. "Hey, speaking of tea. What do you think was in that stout tea that Teyla gave us earlier? I felt a little funny after drinking some of it."

"I don't know," Elizabeth said warily, looking at John. "It tasted like normal chamomile tea, but there was something else that I noticed."

"Yeah, I got that impression, too." John said, sitting next to her on the bed. He could feel the closeness of their bodies, but he pushed the sudden urges to touch her to the back of his mind.

The chime for the door announced someone there before the door slid open, revealing Teyla with a tray in her hands; the tray carrying a pot and two cups. Teyla walked in and put the tray on the nearby table and then turned to her new friends.

"I brought you some stout tea, Doctor Weir," Teyla bowed. "I hope it will help you rest. The devastation that the Wraith leave behind is quite tiresome and draining."

"Yeah, Teyla," John drawled. "What exactly is in that tea by the way?"

"Shona root mixed with Trentilla leaves," Teyla told them. "Why do you ask, Major Sheppard?"

"It doesn't cause any side effects, does it?" John asked, being cautious.

"It does not," Teyla said simply. "Perhaps the effects you both experienced were merely from fatigue."

"That's what Beckett said." John told her as he stood up.

"Unless our diets are not suited for your systems." Teyla thought out loud.

"We'll just assume it's fatigue." Elizabeth said, rubbing at her neck.

"Very well," Teyla bowed again. "Nice night, Doctor Weir. Major Sheppard."

"G'Night, Teyla." Elizabeth and John said at the same time, the Athosian disappearing a moment later; John walking over to the tray and smelling the familiar scent of the Athosian tea.

He poured the liquid into one of the cups and then into the other, walking back over to her once that task was done, sitting next to her again. She accepted the cup hesitantly, but decided it's what she needed to relax.

"As hesitant as I am to drink this," Elizabeth said with a small grin. "I think it's just what I need."

"What you need is sleep, Elizabeth," John said as he looked at her. "We all need sleep right about now."

Sighing, Elizabeth nodded. She knew that she'd have to make the entire city sleep in eight-hour shifts now that the Wraith had been awakened. The city would have to remain on alert for any signs of the Wraith.

"Maybe you're right," Elizabeth agreed, turning to look at Sheppard. "Sleep sounds good right now."

"Then you should do that." John nearly whispered as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, a flush rising in her cheeks as she smiled at his tender caress; John's thumb stopping to caress her cheek softly.

"Yes, I should," Elizabeth whispered back. "What about you?"

"I'll sleep, too." John assured her as his thumb continued to run over her soft skin. He could feel the urges and emotions from when they had been on the balcony flooding back to him in an onslaught of sensory waves.

"John." Elizabeth whispered as she slid her eyes shut, leaning forward slightly as Sheppard met her halfway and pressed his lips to hers, his internal fire starting to burn into an inferno.

John continued moving forward, pushing Elizabeth onto her back as one of his hands went into her hair and he rolled to lay over her. He could feel Elizabeth's hands running up his back under his black and grey jacket, both of his hands now gripping her dark hair gently.

Elizabeth put her hands on the sides of his hips as she kissed him as passionately as she had on the balcony. She could feel John's tongue slowly slide inside of her mouth and move sensually around to duel with hers, every once in a while he'd slide it out and then back in, depending on how his lips moved against hers.

She took deep breaths when she had the chance, whenever John's lips broke apart from hers long enough to allow this, while her hands came out from under his jacket and up his chest and then over the front of his shoulders so she could push his jacket off of him.

John worked with her and put his weight on her chest with his arms straight out behind him as she pushed the jacket down his arms and off his body, tossing it to the floor as she kicked off her shoes; after the jacket was gone, John replaced his weight back onto his elbows and forearms, his hands back in her hair.

Elizabeth grabbed John's face as she kissed him, the intensity growing between them. She moved his lips away from hers so that she could catch her breath and then moved her face to the side just as his lips made a surging contact with her neck, his lips and tongue working together to torment her senses and restraint; a restraint that was quickly diminishing. She closed her eyes and imagined what he could do to her physically.

John rolled them onto his back, sitting her on his thighs as he returned the favor of removing her jacket for her and then tossed it to the floor with his. He ran his hands over her back and then back down to her hips as her hands braced against his chest and sat up when he pulled up on her wine colored shirt, dislodging it from her pants and pulling it over her head; the shirt landed on the growing pile.

John ran his hands over her bare sides and back, the bra she was wearing being the only thing on her torso aside from her necklace that she always wore. He moved to release the clasp and slide it down her arms to be added to the pile. He sat up and held Elizabeth close to him as he bent his head down and started kissing her shoulder and up to her neck, sucking on the side of her neck gently.

Elizabeth grabbed his shirt from his lower back and pulled it up and then over his head, tossing it onto the floor behind her. She rested her hands on his shoulders as he tilted her back a little, bracing her back with his strong hands as his lips made contact with her throat and chest; John's mouth found her breasts and began suckling her as her hands found his hair and gripped what she could. Elizabeth could feel his stubble from not shaving for a couple of days scratching against her tender skin.

John rolled her onto her back and sat up, her legs still wrapped around his waist as he reached out and undid her pants and slid them off and dropped them down with the other clothing items. He watched Elizabeth watch him as he stood up and removed his own boots and pants, leaving them where they landed.

He remained standing and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he held her up by her thighs and walked towards a wall, pinning her against it with his body. His lips finding hers and crushing them with a hunger he didn't know he possessed.

Elizabeth could feel how hot his skin had become and knew hers was just as hot, if not on fire. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle this much longer, she needed him now before she lost the nerve to go through with it all; she needed this to be right.

John could feel the urge to just give in and ravage her until there was no energy left in either one of them. He told his brain and his hormones to slow down, to show Elizabeth that he cared for her and wanted to do this right. He wanted this moment to be perfect if their relationship were to be something more than friends.

Elizabeth couldn't stand it anymore. She used the muscles in her back to push off the wall and send John backwards onto the bed, her landing on top of him with a great force; John had been surprised that she had done that, but he used the momentum to roll her onto her back, his arms bracing him in a hovering position to look down at her.

"Liz," John panted, his breathing hard and labored. "Athosian tea is good."

"John," Elizabeth panted too. "Why did you stop?"

"I want this to be perfect," John told her, brushing back the locks of hair that stuck to her sweating forehead and face. "I don't want to ruin this moment in case we become more then friends. If that's possible, Elizabeth."

"Then shut up, Major." Elizabeth admonished, pulling him down to her and captured his lips with hers and kissed him as if her life was coming to and end and she needed him to know how she felt about him.

John removed the last of their clothing and looked at her as he moved to settle over her. He watched her eyes as he felt her hands slide down to his waist and her legs lift up to wrap around his hips; the burning inferno becoming a massive blaze that he felt couldn't be contained by anything or anyone but the woman under him.

He moved slightly, just enough to tease her entrance with his erection and make her whimper with the expectation of what was about to happen; a new step in their newly formed relationship. She looked at him in the hopes that he understood that she was giving her permission to continue.

"John?" Elizabeth panted.

"Liz?" John fired back.

"What are you waiting for," She asked. "Make love to me, Major Sheppard."

"Yes, ma'am!" John smiled as he braced himself up enough as Elizabeth grabbed his hardened erection and helped guide him inside, moving her hand to his back to join her other hand as he slid slowly into her further, her legs wrapping further up his waist.

John put his arms alongside her torso, his fingers covering the tops of her shoulders as he began moving his hips, sliding out partially and then slowly and seductively slid back into her, Elizabeth arched her back in the opposite movements of his actions as she kept eye contact with him.

Elizabeth moved her hips faster as John moved faster, her back arching more and more as her passion got more heated and urgent. She slid her hands up to his shoulders and put her fingers over the tops of them, her breathing becoming rushed and shallow.

John moved faster, their bodies coming together to become one soul, one entity. Their breaths filling the room, as well as their soft moans and grunts of pure passion and desire. The peak of their explosions coming closer to the breaking point and nearly on the edge of the precipice.

"Oh, oh, oh," Elizabeth moaned as she lifted her legs higher and dug her nails into the back of his shoulders; her breaking point nearing with each thrust. "Oh, John! John!"

"Elizabeth, oh, Elizabeth," John moaned as his hips picked up speed and he thrust harder into her, making the both of them grunt with the exertion of their movements. "Elizabeth!"

"Shepp—!" Elizabeth nearly screamed; she would have if John's mouth had not covered hers right at that moment, his tongue tasting her.

Just as Elizabeth thought he was done convulsing in her, he slammed into her once more and she didn't hold back this time; Elizabeth screamed into his mouth and tightened around him, her own orgasm sated and filled.

"Oh, God! Elizabeth!" John shouted into the room when he couldn't take it anymore, not caring if anyone in Atlantis had heard them.

"Sheppard!" Elizabeth moaned as he collapsed over her and then rolled onto his back, while she curled up on his left side.

"Oh my, God," John sighed with sated breath and a feeling of completion. "Where have you been hiding all my life?"

"Apparently not with you," Liz laughed. "But I have learned one thing."

"What's that?" John panted as he tried to get his breath back to some normalcy.

"I'll need to drink Teyla's tea more often when I'm alone and around you." Elizabeth smiled as she looked up at him.

"We'll have to do that then. You know why?" John answered, pushing back her sweaty hair, his eyes watching her and his skin feeling her close.

"Not off hand, Major." Elizabeth smiled as she ran her hand along his face.

"I think I could get to the point where I love you, Doctor Weir." John smiled as he pulled her closer and into a deep, passionate kiss.

**EPILOGUE**

Elizabeth rushed at John, her overwhelming joy to see him alive from volunteering to go on a suicide run to take out the Wraith ships that were invading Atlantis made her heart want to explode. She smiled at him as she hugged him tightly; John's expression blank and shocked.

"I'm glad you're back." Elizabeth whispered into his ear.

"I love you, Liz," John whispered back into her ear, returning the hug. "I'm glad I'm back, too. Thanks to the _Daedalus_."

"I'll make it up to you later." Liz smiled as she backed up.

"I'll hold you to it, Doctor." John said, keeping his voice down.

"You better, Major." Elizabeth grinned.

"Major, no more," John smiled with a proud smile and then stood at attention to salute her. "Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard requesting permission to return to Atlantis."

"Permission granted, Colonel," Elizabeth smiled, shaking his hand once he released his salute. "And congratulations."

"Doctor Weir!" A voice shouted from the Control Center balcony, breaking their moment and moving them into action; they'd finish their conversation later, behind closed doors as they welcomed each other back into their lives.

THE END 


End file.
